Russian Inside and Out

Professor Smith points out in his inaugural lecture that the current changes in the USSR are bringing considerable public attention to the field of literature, and that as a result the Russian people are becoming acutely conscious of the slenderness of their academic resources. He hopes that literature from outside the USSR will enrich the country, and that along with the acceptance of "emigre" writing there will be recognition for banished Russian writers and scholars who have striven to keep alive the study of so many writers. These scholars, he argues, have found that their formerly unspeakable opinions are now becoming official Soviet positions.